Awards:Shortlisted
for Housing Design Award 2014, Selected Project for our winning submission
of Architect of the Year Award 2014

Karakusevic Carson were appointed by the London
Borough of Barking and Dagenham to redevelop two sections of The Leys estate –
a typical post-war suburban housing development located to the east of Dagenham
town centre, and currently host to a series of rundown 1960’s maisonette
blocks, cul-de-sacs and garage sites. The brief was to provide a mix of
apartments and single-family dwellings, offering residents a better street
based neighbourhood and improved private amenity space.

The Masterplan comprises a series of house
typologies which form a mix of linear and perimeter blocks planned around a new
shared streetscape designed to rationalise and improve the coherence of the
existing estate. A four-storey apartment building to the northern boundary
buffers the wider site from the main road. Beyond this a mixture of terraces,
mews, and courtyard houses establish a traditional street pattern with front
door access that promotes active frontages and safer streets. A varied rhythm
of pitched roofs relate to the form of the retained dwellings and works with
the orientation of the blocks to maximise sunlight to courtyards and
back-gardens. Views are opened-up to the park with new physical links formed
via a gentle ha-ha to the west and a new pedestrian access to the north.

The Leys is an example of our approach in assisting
empowered communities and leading local authorities, cultivating a sense of
involvement in the regeneration of their neighbourhood. Extensive community
consultations with local residents and Councillors were held throughout the
design process, informing our strategy from the outset. Key discussions
included those with the Local Parks’ Trust to advise on the treatment of common
boundaries, and with the Headmaster of the local Primary School with whom we
developed a series of proposals for the public realm with which they actively
engaged and as result even include a bird-watching tower and natural play area.

Karakusevic Carson worked closely on the Public
Realm with East to create a series of exemplary streets, gardens and playspaces
strongly supported by the Design for London team at the GLA.